Monarch’s new MPlayer brings in-flight entertainment to your device

Clearly realising that passengers don’t want to be staring at a tiny screen on the back of the seat in front of them but instead want to be staring at a tiny screen in their hands, the MPlayer comes as an app that needs to be downloaded onto your iOS or Android smartphone or tablet before you fly (as there’s no WiFi on the plane).

Once on board, you’ll get access to newspapers, magazines, films, music, and TV shows and there’s even a stand so your arms don’t get tired. The app comes with a free in-flight magazine and (naturally) a duty free catalogue, but to get the full experience you’ll need to shell out £3.99 per person, per flight.

Even then, the viewing selection is a little limited: five movies, and all the TV shows are from the BBC. But it will be changed every three months and you can browse before you fly, to check if there’s anything you want to watch.

For now it’s only available on six of the company’s planes but it will be rolled out to the entire fleet over the summer and the start of next year. If you’re about to take a trip on an MPlayer-enabled flight, Monarch will send you an email reminder that it’s available for download.